Universal Music has partnered with Music Health, a music wellness technology firm, on an app for the care of people with dementia. The partnership sees Universal provide the firm access to its catalogue for use on Vera, an ‘intuitive music intervention tool designed for the care of people affected by dementia.’
According to Music Health, Vera ‘analyses the age of the dementia affected person, where they grew up, and how they react to certain music. It uses these criteria to autonomously curate the right songs at the right times to effectively manage the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Vera curates songs from UMG’s unrivalled catalogue, the world’s largest, most diverse and culturally rich collection of blues, classical, country, folk, jazz, pop, R&B, reggae, rock n roll, soul and soundtracks.’
A recent report from UK Music and Music for Dementia titled The Power of Music highlighted the potential of music in healthcare settings, with UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin referring to it as a ‘miracle medicine’ which can be used for ‘improving wellbeing and quality of life, boosting mental health or supporting dementia care.’ Music Health’s approach correlates with The Power of Music’s findings, which show that music is more effective in dementia care when it is associated with moments from the person’s life and holds meaning to them.
Speaking on the company’s involvement, Michael Nash, EVP of Digital Strategy at Universal, said: ‘From rigorous workouts to peaceful meditation to restorative sleep cycles, music is deeply integrated into numerous innovations promoting health and wellbeing. Now, scientists are finding that music is also a powerful tool for helping those suffering from the effects of dementia and memory loss. At UMG, we are working with a wide range of companies to develop therapeutical applications of music and we’re proud to partner with Music Health on Vera to help improve the lives of so many around the world.’
